


Just Beyond the Sand

by Neither Demon Nor Angel (JBE), WoahThereSparky



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: I can't believe I'm back with more merman au, M/M, Surfer!Lance, This ones much different however, fluffy with angst thrown in there, klance, merman au, merman!keith, shout out to my coauthor
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-18
Updated: 2017-01-27
Packaged: 2018-08-15 15:04:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 6,961
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8061085
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JBE/pseuds/Neither%20Demon%20Nor%20Angel, https://archiveofourown.org/users/WoahThereSparky/pseuds/WoahThereSparky
Summary: Surfing was second nature to Lance. He spent so much time out on the ocean, he practically lived there. However, someone else shared the same vast body of water, unbeknownst to the surfer.





	1. Act I, Scene I

**Author's Note:**

> If you'd like to follow us on tumblr-  
> NeitherDemonNorAngel/JBE: http://thedevilsdesciples.tumblr.com/  
> WoahThereSparky: http://keith-rp.tumblr.com/  
> Feel free to contact us if you'd like.

The salty air, the loud crashing of waves in the distance, the familiar warm and grimy sea gently touching his legs, and the hot sun on his neck, he could feel it all. Everything around the dark haired male was comforting as he slowly breathed in and out on his home away from home... a blue surfboard.

It was the only thing keeping him afloat as he sat in calm waters, already a good distance away from land.

No one else knew this side of Lance: the teen that would swim out to a calm part of the sea and just relax, enjoying nature to it's fullest. It was as if he was thanking mother nature for every day he was given before battling it out with his beautiful and terrifying enemy: the sea. Taking one last deep breath,the tanned male cracked a smile and opened his eyes. As soon as he had exhaled, the calm Lance was gone. Tranquility was replaced with determination as the teen soon began paddling out further. Now in unknown terrain, the thrill seeker felt as alive as ever. It was time. 

Lance was determined to discover a huge wave- the likes that no other surfer had witnessed before. Well, witnessed and lived to tell the tale, at least.  
In order to inspire others to live recklessly, the teen wanted to do something extraordinary. Lance had no intention of dying today, however the dare devil was thankful for every second he did have in order to live life to it's fullest. 

 

Normally Lance would get up early before school, ride a wave or two then go to school and do what was society requested of him; chores, homework, and running errands until able to escape into the sea before having to sleep and repeat the process. Likewise, it was summer and the daring teen planned on spending all his free time taking on the waves.

\--------

Keith was swimming dangerously close to the surface when he first saw him. 

What appeared to be a strange seal at first, turned out to be a surfboard as he approached. Keith had almost never seen one, considering how little activity this part of the beach received. Of course there was someone on the surfboard, a real human. 

He had always figured that people came to the beach in order to become more in-tune with the sea and themselves. Some humans spent a large amount of time there- as if they wanted to join him in the ocean. Of course they couldn't, no human could survive. At least, not without Keith’s assistance. He could never meet a human, no matter how much he would like to, or allow himself to be seen. If anyone knew about him, there would be consequences. 

 

Since the day he had first seen this particular surfer, dressed in a blue and black wetsuit with darker skin than his own, brown hair tinted slightly lighter from the sun, had began watching him from a small rock outcropping.

Keith was always careful to be hidden from the beach goers, just as a precaution. He was still close enough to see him however, and he couldn't help but stare. Not only was he an idiot for surfing, but he took the biggest waves, constantly putting himself in harm's way. 

 

From dawn to dusk, Lance would surf for as long as he could, until he was either too exhausted to continue or his thirst was quenched for the day. The first week he'd been able to satisfy his drive with little waves, but the more dangerous the waves, the bigger his craving became. Now it wasn't a factor of until he was bored but rather what would give out first: his body, or his will?

Keith's red tail flopped in the water, swishing back and forth as he watched. He often wondered what it was like to have legs, to be able to stand on something and let nature control your path. The currents could pull you one way, with a riptide sweeping in the other, but the surfer he observed always managed to keep steady. 

The two had done the impossible in their lives, man mastering the waves, and Keith mastering the ocean. They each had found a home in the sea, a welcoming body of water, and Keith became lost in his thoughts. 

Now, sun had already fallen, and the tanned male's skin was dripping with sweat, but on his face still rested a look of tired determination. 

Although he knew it would be best to start heading back towards the shore, he could already see what he'd been waiting for all day starting to form a few feet away: the mother wave. There was no way he'd let it escape him this time. Swimming over, Lance tiredly forced his aching bones to obey and stood on his board, now right in the middle of destruction's path with a huge grin plastered on his face.

Keith snapped out of his daze to see the brown haired man approaching an enormous wave. The beach was barely lit, yet Keith's vision was impeccable. There was no way he would survive that wave, even if he was the best surfer Keith had ever witnessed. He cautiously slipped into the water, swimming closer to the approaching wave. 

Hell, he was going to regret this.


	2. Act I, Scene II

The gigantic wave was still a little ways away, enough time for Keith to get in better range before it impacted the surfer. Surprisingly, even in Lance’s current state he was able to grip onto his board for the initial impact and began to ride the wave. Hell, the risk taking surfer even shouted out triumphantly and laughed before being swallowed whole from the massive body of water.

As soon as the surfer hit the water, there was a second impact- his head to the board. It stunned the male's body as he was swept away without even a chance to fight back. In that fleeting moment of terror, Lance knew he was toast.

Keith cringed at the small clunk made by the surfboard hitting the male's head, and he knew that he had to intervene. He had promised himself to avoid humans, never get involved with them. However, Keith couldn't let him die just from one act of stupidity- to leave the human’s blood on his hands.The surfer probably wouldn't remember the merman after this regardless. 

As quickly as possible, the concerned merman propelled himself forward, riding the current until he finally reached the unmoving surfer. The drowning surfer was quite cute up close, which Keith would take more notice of if he wasn't attempting to save the dumbass.

Wrapping his arms around the black and blue clad torso, Keith managed to pull against the brutal water assaulting him and swam out of the riptide, landing on shore. The adrenaline that had been pumping through him was now slowly subsiding, leaving the merman exhausted as he pushed the surfer and himself halfway onto the sand.

Not completely unconscious but very damn near to it, the darker male couldn't see much, but he was able to feel another presence. The person that held the surfer tight and fought avidly against the current....for his sake.   
Opening an eye, Lance was able to catch a glimpse of red blotches and a face, no more than that.

As soon as the man was settled and Keith had confirmed the human was not badly injured, he bolted. While swimming straight off into the sea the merman fought the sudden urge to look back. Keith knew he shouldn't- letting a human see him would cause too much trouble. He had already rescued the drowning man, and who knows what he had seen already.

Much to the surfer's embarrassment, he had been knocked out from sleep deprivation and was taking a nap, until he was able to feel the familiarity of sand against his form. Slowly, the dark haired male sat up and looked around, in hopes of catching a glimpse of his savior. When glancing back to the water, the teen swore to himself that he saw a fin of some sort retreating back into the water.

Making his way back to the home he had made for himself, Keith retreated to a hollow area in the rocks, far under the water. It was a water filled cave, covered in small oceanic plants and skittering animals. One alcove even had a small area where Keith could sit above the water and breathe in the salty air. He did this on the days he couldn't risk going up to the surface, though his mind was still there. He was still worrying for the stranger’s safety

Above the surface, Frowning in confusion, Lance slowly stood and managed to limp home, every bone in his body aching. Once he'd arrived to his bed, the male flopped down onto it and was out like a light, his still wet surfing uniform tightly clinging to his muscles when he finally awoke in the morning.   
\-----

It wasn't a dream.. it couldn't have been. Not when he was safe at home, even though his board was missing. It had to have been life or death- the tether had snapped. Groaning, the tanned teen decided to take a few days off the water and instead contemplated what to do next. 

It may be wise to stay on dry land the rest of his days from such a close call... but, if he did that then he'd never know the truth about the hottie who saved him. It had to have been a chick, right? All he was able to see was a set of gorgeous eyes full of worry surrounded by thick lashes, and the end of a red tail. He had to see her again.

The longer he was away from the ocean, the more his belief was confirmed that he had to go back, she was the only thing he could think of. After a week of recovery and chores to earn the money for a new board (well, to rent one at least), the surfer was finally back in the water. He was on a red board this time, trying to find where exactly he had been when they met.

Keith was a mixture of disappointed and frightened when the other hadn't shown up for a while. The concerned merman had come out of his cave every day to look for the tanned human, but had no luck. Each sunset he became more and more concerned about the man's well being. 

He had almost given up hope of ever seeing the surfer again, cursing himself for leaving the man alone, when he saw him on the water. Riding his surfboard like nothing had happened. Keith squinted, noticing it was a different one now, it's bright hue almost matching his tail. Now that he was back in the ocean again, the brunet had to be more careful this time. Keith was sure he would be more sensible and take stricter precautions this time. 

However, the man continued surfing as the sun began to set, and the circumstances were beginning to seem just like those of the previous week. He sighed audibly. If he had to rescue this idiot one more time, he would steal his board.  
Moving off the rocks, Keith let the dorsal fins on his tail guide him smoothly along in the water, as he circled the area where the human was surfing. He could feel the waves rippling by, and popped his head up for a second, decently far away from the man, to see another massive wave coming.

"Goddamn it, not again" he growled to himself, ducking back underwater.

Unlike normal, the male was too excited to do his daily meditation. Instead, he went straight towards the deeper area in order to try and get to the same spot, maybe even a bit farther out by nightfall. 

After riding a few test waves while waiting for the one he was saving his energy for, the male waited with baited breath until it was time. Ecstatic, Lance paddled eagerly towards the huge wave, but this time he was able to ride on top of the wave. At least, until another, larger, wave joined in on top of the first wave and sent the male crashing into the sea.


	3. Act I, Scene III

'Not again' Keith thought, already exasperated by the man's actions. Despite the merfolks’ instincts shouting to leave the human be, he just couldn't let the surfer nearly die. Again. 

 

Swimming against the current and up towards the male’s unconscious body, the raven haired swimmer could see the man was sinking deeper into the water with his eyes closed. Cursing to himself lightly, Keith knew that he would drown soon unless something was done, and fast. Panicking,the sea dweller tugged the human's head up to his own and firmly pressed their lips against together.

It took every ounce of discipline in the Lance's body to keep his eyes shut- to not move despite knowing he was getting swallowed up by the overwhelming current and was slowly sinking into the sea. However, as soon as a pair of lips made their way to his, the tanned male squinted to see the beauty before him once more. Keith's lips were still on his own mouth as Lance realized that he'd made a terrible mistake, and screamed. 

"Ahh! you're a guy! woah, wait.... I can breath...?" The human garbled, his speech swallowed by water, making it impossible to decipher. Keith had assumed the other had passed out, but apparently this was incorrect. The only thing clear was the startled look that transitioned into confusion on Lance's face.

Unsure what to make of this situation or how to communicate with someone that couldn’t talk underwater, Keith contemplated other means of communication. Sign language was always an option, but he doubted the man knew it.

Exhaling through his nose, the merman dragged the startled male deeper under water to where his cave resided. 

Keith figured the other was probably freaking out from seeing a merman for the first time.

Well the merman did get one thing right: he definitely was freaking out, but not just from seeing a merman. It was the fact that he had pictured two things. One: That his savior would be a beautiful girl like Ariel and Two: That she’d bring him up towards the surface. Instead, Lance was being dragged down even deeper into unknown waters by a male..... he was fucking terrified.

After a bit of struggling and several terrified noises, the merman finally managed to drag the dumbstruck human into his cave. Hauling his catch to the area that had a rather large space devoid of water, Keith flopped the petrified human onto land in order to talk properly. The logical merman couldn't believe he was letting a stupid human see him. His brain was already running wild with what could go wrong. 

As soon Lance had felt something resembling land, he hastily scrambled onto the damp rock and clung to it for dear life while staring at the merman incredulously... or at least, where he thought the other was in the pitch black cave. 

After finally getting the frantic male situated on land, Keith's upper body leaned against the smooth surface of the cave. His weight rested on his muscular arms as he looked up at the other. "What the fuck?"

"What the fuck?! Dude, you're a dude?! why did you bring me here? and you can talk?" 

The surfer exploded, rambling in his confusion, unsure of what to say or do next.

 

Keith raised an eyebrow at him- not that he could see.

 

"First and foremost: Yes, I'm a dude. Does this surprise you?"

 

Sighing, the merman retrieved something small and slightly rusted from the rocks...a lantern. The old kind of lantern that people in full scuba diving armor would carry. As he turned it on with ease the room was lit with a warm, barely green wash of light. The water glowed golden, the scales littering the merman’s sides down to his tail were all brightly visible, as well as half the room- the light giving the merman an almost ethereal appearance.

As soon as the source of iridescent light was turned on, the scruffy haired male gave an inaudible sigh of relief. The handy gadget had brought everything to life which helped to calm his nerves greatly. Now that he wasn't robbed blind of one of his favorite senses, Lance took this time to get a better seating. The darker male splayed out while trying to contemplate how to word his next sentence.

"Well... No offense buddy, but you do kind of look like a girl. Your eyes do, at least. Look, I didn't exactly get the best inspection the first time I half drowned...I mean who can see well underwater, while it's dark and half unconscious? It also might sound cliché but all the merpeople I see are chicks. Well, in movies anyways… Not to mention I didn’t think you could talk So uh.. yeah. I'm a.. a little surprised." 

And disappointed, but he wasn't about to add that to the person who just saved his life regardless of gender. Still wished it was a girl though.

Keith's eyes narrowed. "How do eyes have a gender?", he asked in disbelief.

The crimson tailed male was in a mixed state between confused and offended, but not quite sure why. He just saved this guy’s life for crying out loud, and he didn't even thank Keith. Looks like the raven haired male picked the wrong person to save.

“I'm not an animal, I can talk." What kind of asshole asks such a question?

This time it was Lance's' turn to raise a brow. "Well, not really your eyes in general but you have long lashes, normally guys have shorter lashes.. also I didn't mean that you didn't speak a language at all just.. well I didn't expect you to speak English?? I expected a form of intelligent clicking sounds and gurgles from not speaking with humans a lot.. like doesn't your species have it's own language?" The male questioned, while even taking it a step further as he made a few clicking and gurgle sounds for emphasis on what he imagined the other to sound like. 

Yeah okay, so this was probably a stupid deduction, but who knew? Since the surfer was apparently playing the idiotic, insensitive prick he might as well play the part well and get the questions he wanted answered out of the way. 

“So, why did you save me? Also, better question, why did you kiss me? and how can I magically breath underwater now??"


	4. Act I, Scene IV

Keith put a hand over his forehead with a groan. He should have just let the loud air breather drown. "I can't answer every question at once." This guy sure was talkative…. and why was a drowning man paying attention to his eyelashes of all things? 

Smirking, Keith decided to throw Lance off by answering the onslaught of questions in a different language, which happened to be similar to humans' sign language. The sea dweller made a series of various gestures rapidly, attempting to confuse the shit out of his guest. Of course it worked, which had the merman chuckling to himself at the other's bewilderment. After a minute, he finally gave mercy on the land dweller by actually answering this time. "No, we just kind of hear each other, telepathically." The gestures were not even remotely close to how merfolk communicated.

Indeed the other's multiple hand gestures did their job, making the human wonder what Keith was saying. Bewilderment was clear on the surface dweller’s face only to realize too late that the dubious male was pulling his leg.

"Oh, it. is. on, merman. Go ahead, ask me a question and see how I answer. I'll tell you allllll about how cats are the real rulers of the world and how Cheetos are a figment of your imagination!" The talkative male retaliated, blowing the other a raspberry with a slight huff of determination.

Keith rolled his eyes, already done with this guy's shit. Not that he knew what Cheetos were, frankly they could be a myth and the merman wouldn't know. However, there was one thing he didn't want the other to lie about, as he was genuinely curious. "What's your name?" Keith questioned, making eye contact with the other as his tail lazily flopped about in the background.

"Cool guy Lance." Was the first thing that the talkative male thought of, so it was the first thing out of his mouth, followed by double pistols fingers and a wink. Wait, fuck. No, that was a line for flirting and picking up chicks, so why was he using it on a guy? Hopefully his race didn't flirt the same either. That would be awkward. 

Keith paused for a moment. "I'll take that as Lance." The elder denounced before pulling himself out of the water completely and into a sitting position next to ‘cool guy Lance’. The tip of Keith's tail and caudal fin fluttered slightly in the water while the red of his tail and scales shined against the gold of the room. This contrasted pleasantly against the merman’s skin that was actually quite pale in natural light.

Giving off a faint blush of embarrassment, Lance looked down towards the other male’s tail as the sea dweller moved out of his natural element. Not used to such a sight, Lance silently wondering what the foreign object felt like. Without asking, a hand crept towards the other's scales, too curious for his own good. "Alright, so you know my name. What's yours?" If this ariel imposter gave him a name that seemed even remotely fake, the surfer had half a mind to give the merman a girl’s name until his real name was revealed. Ursula would suffice.

"Keith.", he said simply. He saw Lance's hand reaching out towards his tail, and instinctively grabbed it. The merman’s grip wasn’t painful, but simply a product of a quick flash that halted his assailant’s movement. He could tell the other was interested in his tail. however, Keith was interested in his legs. "You can touch my tail all you like, if you tell me about being human.", he paused, realizing that he could still potentially be a threat, "-and if you try to take off one of my scales I'll take off your head."

"... on second thought, never mind. Give me my hand back." Lance demanded, frowning at the turn of events. Take a scale? Um, no. Sure his scales were pretty and all, but the idea of taking a scale sounded like the equivalent to the merman ripping off one of his toenails. 

"I'll pass on the scales, thanks. Actually, I don't even want to touch them anymore." That was a transparent lie. It was obvious he still wanted to touch the other’s tail, but Lance wasn’t about to get blamed if one happened to accidentally fall off. Who knew how fragile they'd be? He didn't want to take a chance with how threatening the other sounded.

The owner to the tail in question released Lance’s hand, frowning as well. "You do realize I'm not made of glass", he commented, seeing right through what the surfer was thinking. "They won't come off without a knife. You can touch them if you want.", he leaned back on his hands, now that he was no longer grasping Lance's. The sea dweller decided to let this human make his own choice. If he was curious enough to feel his scales, he was welcome to do so. Of course, in exchange for knowledge about humans. If not, it was his loss.

Intrigued by Keith's ability to know what he was thinking, Lance faintly wondered the extent of the merman’s powers. Could the other actually hear his inner thoughts or was it all just written on his face? Deciding to test this theory, lance thought aloud:

' You're not the only curious one here. I want to know more about merfolk, so how about knowledge for knowledge ? and.. since I want to touch your tail, you can touch my legs?', he offered inside his mind, trying to think the words to the telepath, wondering if it'd actually work... eh, if Keith couldn't hear his offer then it wouldn't be that much of a loss. It was probably a stupid idea anyways.

Keith soon realized what Lance was trying to do and closed his eyes to focus. Unable to grasp full sentences, the merman was only able catch bits and pieces of Lance's thoughts, almost like the two weren't quite on the same radio frequency.   
What he had heard was plenty though. The aquatic male gave Lance a hard look.

"Did you pretend to drown in order to learn more about merfolk?" He lashed out accusingly before taking a minute to calm down and finally adding, "We can still swap stories and shit."


	5. Act I, Scene V

" I- No, I- I really did almost drown the first time, the second time I did it so I could meet you because I couldn't get you out of my head- mermaids are cool and all but damn you seem a bit uptight." Flustering slightly, the male frowned, his eyes still on the other's tail. He really wanted to touch it now, but he probably blew his chance..

 

It was now or never. Attempting to touch it again, this time Lance aimed went for the tip, hoping that either Keith wouldn't try to stop him, or he'd be able to touch it first.

 

"Here." Ignoring the comment about him being uptight, Keith lifted his caudal fin out of the water. This gave Lance access to his fins and his scales. The elder felt a little awkward doing this since he thoroughly enjoyed his personal space, but he really wanted to know what legs were like. His head was filled with conflicting thought meanwhile. Why had Lance wanted to meet him so badly? Was it because he was a merman or because he saved him? He would have to ask.

 

Glad that the aquatic other didn't break off the offer, the darker male happily ran his hand up the other's scaley length. It took a mere second for Lance to realize that there was only one way to ‘pet’ the other properly. After hastily changing the direction of his petting motions, the patch of hard surface felt vastly smoother.

 

So this is what a fish feels like... Miffed at the soothing feel, the Lance slowly moved his hands from bigger scales to smaller ones, even cautiously petting the other's tail before glancing at the scales on his face. With an outstretched hand, the curious male silently asked for permission to touch the other more while knowing he might have already gone too far.

\--

Keith wasn't used to such close proximity. He lived alone with very few friends or visitors, after all. With such a charismatic surfer being the first time the merman came in contact with a human, he had no idea what their mannerisms were or If this was considered the norm. Honestly, he hadn't expected Lance to actually touch his scales. The merman’s face was a little red, but he silently nodded, agreeing to let the surfer essentially pet his face.

 

Giving a small smile, Lance sheepishly leaned in; looking the other in the eyes first before gently and hesitantly brushing the scales on the merman’s cheek. While the scales on keith's tail were quite large, the ones on his face were slightly covered in skin as well, it showing well the transition of humanoid to fish. After a few strokes, the next place he wanted to touch was the other's gills, and his waist.. but instead of voicing this, The intrigued male instead forced himself to move away and sit on his hands before touching elsewhere. "Alright, I've had my fill. So what do you want to know so badly?" He couldn't help but wonder, now unable to get the other's cute blush out of his head, it causing him to slightly snicker... now he just wanted to tease the other more.

 

Keith stayed quiet, trying to ignore the feeling of Lance's hand against his scales. His blush did not go away, after all, the man was stroking his face. It certainly did not help that he hadn't had any physical contact in a long time. Or at least, not like this strangely intimate...scale petting? Regardless of what it was, Keith could feel the absence when Lance's warm hand was withdrawn, almost missing the touch. As Lance's speech filled his ears, Keith's eyes flitted up to meet his. "What's standing like?", he asked, tilting his head a little to the side. He'd never talked to a human before, and wanted to know what it was like, being human. He could talk for hours, but knew Lance probably wouldn't have the time.

 

-

 

What was standing like? Well, that was.. Actually quite difficult to explain. "Hmmmm..." Being serious, the male got up with a grunt and stood, trying his best to narrate while now bending his knees. " Well, it's a learned habit that all humans instinctively know how to do.. I guess? We start out crawling then slowly make ourselves stand- at first with support from other objects until our bones and muscles are strong enough to carry us.. it doesn't hurt.. normally? Though if you stand too much and you're not used to it you'll end up on the floor... I never really thought of standing with an emotion though? Like, it's not really fun to stand? it's actually quite tiring... but you can't sit for too long or you'll have to stand..." The tanned male blabbered on, now realizing he was probably one of the least qualified person to talk to a merman about being a human being.

 

Keith listened to every word Lance was saying. To some it may appear he was bantering about a useless subject, but he really did want to know what it was like to have legs. To be able to stand, walk, run, see the world. While the other man's explanation didn't reveal much, Keith tended to be a more visual and tactile learner. While he had made complete eye contact while he was speaking, he stared at Lance's legs once he was done. "Can I touch them?"

 

Blinking slightly at the other's response, the surfer simply shrugged. " sure, I mean I touched your tail so it only makes sense.. Just don't make fun of my legs for being slightly hairy." Lance accused, pointing to the other before reminding himself. " oh wait.. I'm stupid. You can only see my feet. Go ahead and do what you want .... Just no tickling." The darker noted, now sitting back down with his legs dangling in the water for Keith to get a better feel.

 

Keith slipped back into the water, his head simply popping out, and began looking at Lance's feet. At first, he was primarily staring, but he decided to see what the odd contraptions felt like. He reached out and began gently handling them, curiosity in his eyes. They were surprisingly rough, callouses formed on certain places. He gently ran his thumb over the skin, inspecting Lance's foot. "I wonder what it's like..." he mumbled to himself, finally letting go of the foot.

 

Able to feel the other manhandling his feet, the darker couldn't help but laugh every now and then, trying to stifle it as the other moved around inspecting his foot. "You know.. you can touch higher than my toes.. you just don't get to see what's underneath." Lance volunteered this information, demonstrating by putting his hand on one knee. "I wonder what having a tail is like... I'd switch with you if there was a way." Came the other's honest reaction, shrugging it off.

"What's underneath?" He asked, a little confused. He knew next to nothing about humans, and he was the furthest thing from an expert in the human reproductive system. Figuring it was a stupid question, something he should already know, he decided to move onto another topic, as he gently ran his fingers over the muscles on Lance's leg "I don't know about making you a merman, but you can see the ocean, if you kiss me again. Your time should be running out soon, and I'd rather not deal with a corpse."


	6. Act I, Scene VI

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a little update on our contact info:
> 
> NeitherDemonNorAngel/JBE: http://thedevilsdesciples.tumblr.com/  
> WoahThereSparky: http://woahtheresparky.tumblr.com/ (New blog for writing)

As the raven ran his hands up the surfer's leg, he couldn't help but give off a low shiver before trying to play it off as being cold. 

" Well, my naked body is under here. Humans don't normally go walking around naked... this isn't my actual skin." Laughing, the male grabbed at the bottom of the tight suit and pulled it up a little to reveal more of the dark skin, only a shade lighter than the rest of his body.  
When told that he'd be able to breath underwater with a kiss, he could feel warm blood rushing to his cheeks, dusting them with a nice pink color. 

"A-ah... I.. I see...." Was all that came out, as Lance was now wondering if he really wanted to kiss a dude in order to see blurry shape under water..... it was really going to hurt his eyes if he didn't have on a pair of goggles. 

"Would it be too much to ask you to take me back to the shore then we could meet up again after I'm properly prepared for opening my eyes underwater for hours on end?"

 

Keith paused for a moment, his touch stilling on the other man's calf. Lance had tolerated him long enough as is, why would he want to come back? Was he that interested in merfolk? His request made him uneasy however, since he did not know where he was going or when he wanted to meet again. Daylight would be difficult, if not dangerous. For all Keith knew, Lance could return with a group of poachers. Though he knew he would never do that, so he resigned himself to the idea. 

"Do you want to stay here longer, or go home?" Keith hadn't talked to someone in so long, he wanted Lance to stay. He knew he would have to go eventually, so he readied himself for the answer either way. Maybe he would actually come back.

 

Although the male didn't mind staying underwater with the other longer, he knew it wouldn't be the best idea. 

"I'd love to stay but I better start heading home... it was already dark when I left and I haven't eaten... Mom'll probably be worried sick..." Sighing, Lance glanced from the merman to his surroundings as something slowly clicked. "Wait a minute, are you.... are you out here all alone?"

 

Keith nodded slowly, slightly confused, "I have a few friends a beach away, but no one near." He had always lived in solitude. Well, not always, but he did prefer it that way, or so he told himself. He did love the company Lance was providing, but one thing was tugging at the back of his mind. 

"Mom?"

He had never had a proper family, and certainly never knew his parents. All he knew was the strange pod of merpeople he had grown up with, until he was abandoned, to swim his own part of the sea.

 

“Uhh....yeah." The younger muttered, giving off an awkward laugh while rubbing the back of his neck. Shit, he probably shouldn't have brought that up. Now feeling guilty, the surfer wondered how he could make it up to the merman. 

"Alright so how about this: I'll stay the night here since it's already super late, we'll wake up tomorrow and try to find my board then I'll paddle back home and sneak into my house undetected before my mom wakes up and finds out that I was out all night. No biggie." A blatant liar, it was evident he'd be in trouble regardless and that this 'foolproof' plan obviously wasn't going to work, but Lance wasn't going to just leave the other after hearing that the paler essentially had no friends or family.

 

Keith's eyes practically lit up, before quickly dimming back to their deep violet color once again. He was still confused about the "mom" thing. He vaguely knew what one was, but did every human have one, and wasn't Lance a little old to have one? He raised an eyebrow, disbelieving his last statement.

"You want to stay the night here, laying on a piece of rock." He was sure Lance had picked up on Keith's loneliness and was humoring him. His tail had moved on to making even slower, more repetitive motions, his fin occasionally peeking out of the water.

 

"Yeah, what’s so bad about sleeping on a rock? I've done it before.. multiple times actually believe it or not. Anyways, it's just for a few hours, then I'll go home and sleep in my bed. I'll sleep longer than normal, then get ready and I can meet you around coral reef peak at night." Coral reef peak, as Lance had deemed it, was a shallow spot of water next to a cliff that jutted out of the water close to a midway point- it being the landmark that Lance used in order to find his way back. Of course Keith probably had a different name for it, but the surfer would point the spot out once they got that far tomorrow morning. 

Noticing the cute way Keith's tail was steadily moving up and down, Lance wondered if it acted like a dog’s tail and wagged faster when he was happy. Thinking this caused the younger to snicker out loud, unable to stop the stupid grin that had taken over his face, now smiling from ear to ear. Knowing Keith would probably question the odd outburst, the other was now intently imagining the comical show in his head. His only goal currently being for the other to see the same thing he did, all the while still cracking up.


	7. Act I, Scene VII

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter, but more will be on its way!

Keith tilted his head forward a little, "I have no idea where that it is, you'll have to show me." He had seen many coral reefs, but none of them Lance could have ever visited before. The merman firmly decided he would have to find some way for Lance to sleep comfortably, and he doubted seaweed would do it for him.  
The other then broke out into an outburst of laughter that had Keith completely confused. His laughter had him smiling as well too, it was infectious. It felt good to laugh again. Maybe he was warming up a little too much to this human, but Keith was beginning to feel...alive again. 

Through the slight smile on his face he questioned, "What?"

 

"Ahahaha... oh... oh man...." The younger snickered before slowly calming down and shaking his head. 

"N-nothing.. nothing...snk snk..." Even if keith could see the 'catfish' version of himself that Lance was imagining right now, he doubted he'd get the joke. It took a good minute before Lance had finally calmed down, though he still had a smile on his face, in a good mood after seeing the merman smiling.  
"Hmmm~~~ I wonder if I could even get a cat near you without either you scaring it, or it scaring you." The human sneered, knowing it would be easier to get a dog to show the other versus a cat.  
"I'll show you the spot I mean in the morning, for now though..." Now yawning, the younger closed an eye, trying to stifle a yawn. "It's best to catch some z's while I still can."

Keith furrowed his brow with a smile, almost questioning what Lance was saying. There were too many questions and too little time, and Keith didn't want to come off as an idiot to him. His eyes widened as he realized he had no proper sleeping accommodations for Lance.

"Shit, one second.", he said, swimming out of the room.

He looked around frantically, his eyes finally laying on something, tucked in a high corner, as the ceiling had a bit of air to it. He carefully carried it over to Lance, avoiding getting it wet as much as possible. He finally unfolded the item, handing it to him. "It's a blanket I made, for when I want to sleep above water. It absorbs water and keeps my tail wet, but it should work to cushion the rocks."

By the time the merman had left and come back, Lance was already starting to drift, half out of it and about to either fall head first onto the hard rock or splash into the sea. However, Keith's words had slightly jolted the other long enough for him to take the blanket with a murmur of thanks along with a lazy smile before laying it down and flopping down onto it tiredly- now using his arm as a pillow.

Keith smiled to himself at how cute the tired human was. He was uncertain how long they tended to sleep, but Keith had decided to go to some hunting, maybe clean up a little. Yet he couldn't force himself to move from the spot he was in. He leaned against the rock near Lances face and admired the humanistic traits of it. The lack of scales, strange, oval ears, and no gills all made him different. Keith decided it was a good kind of different, and didn't realize for how long he was staring, having wandered off into thought about humans.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone, it's WoahThereSparky.  
> I apologize to both you readers and my coauthor for the long wait between the chapters, I've been incredibly busy recently and life kind of punched me in the face.  
> Hopefully JBE and I will get back to writing again soon, I really miss talking to them.
> 
> Thank you all so much for your love and support, your comments, kudos, bookmarks, and everything you all do is wonderful.  
> Until next time!


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